Dozens injured after cruise ship malfunction

Last updated at 19:04 19 July 2006

A steering problem caused a new cruise ship to roll abruptly throwing passengers and crew to the deck and injuring dozens, including 20 seriously, officials said.

In an instant, passengers aboard The Crown Princess cruise ship went from sunbathing to clutching whatever they could as the massive ship rolled heavily to its side, throwing everything not nailed down against the deck and walls.

"Another 20 degrees and I would have been in the water," said Alfred Caproni, of North Adams, Massachusetts, who was on his balcony on the ninth deck. "All the water from the pools was coming right over the edge. It was like Niagara Falls. There were dozens of people with bleeding noses."

The Crown Princess was 11.5 miles (18.5 kilometers) southeast of Port Canaveral en route to New York late Tuesday afternoon when its crew reported problems with the steering equipment and the 113,000-ton ship listed hard to one side, Coast Guard Petty Officer James Judge said.

It slowly came back up, leaving a scene of terrified passengers scattered across its decks, halls and casino, then headed for the port.

Gerald Brock, a surgeon from Ontario, Canada, said Wednesday he assisted ship doctors in the triage room treating "dozens of passengers" with injuries ranging from fractures and dislocated joints to elderly people suffering shortness of breath and chest pains.

All 3,100 passengers and 1,200 crew members were accounted for, the Coast Guard said. But at least 20 people suffered serious injuries, including a child and an adult with injuries considered critical, said Stan Payne, CEO of the Canaveral Port Authority. About 70 others had lesser injuries.

Some passengers left the ship late Tuesday night after it reached Port Canaveral, and buses shuttled others to an airport Wednesday morning. Officials expected the disembarking to continue into Thursday.

Payne said the ship would remain there for several days. The Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board planned to inspect it Wednesday, and Princess Cruises - one of 12 brands operated by Miami-based Carnival Corp. - said it was investigating what caused the severe list. It wasn't immediately clear how far over the ship tipped.

"We deeply regret this incident and are doing everything we can to make our passengers as comfortable as possible under these difficult circumstances," company spokeswoman Julie Benson said. She said all passengers would receive a full refund and reimbursement for additional expenses.

Some passengers said the ship was already tilting Tuesday morning, even before the sudden roll to the side.

Martha Lynn George said she at first thought something was wrong with her bed when she awoke but then realized the whole ship was slightly tilted. She and her husband were in the buffet area Tuesday afternoon when the ship suddenly rolled. If her husband hadn't grabbed her, she said, she would have gone flying through a glass window.